Reasonable efforts in web development
Think of reasonable efforts as a concept rather than a strict rule. It is a way of life as much as it is a way to prevent problems and save time in web development, and when applied, it will just make life easier for yourself and other people.
Edited: 2021-02-16 23:53
As you continue to improve your programming and coding skills, you may increasingly realize how important it is to put in reasonable efforts towards doing things the best way — from the start — without causing unreasonable expenses to yourself or your employee. This is a fine balance and prioritization, and something you might only learn with a lot of experience.
You can think of reasonable efforts as not just a concept in IT related work, but as a way to approach life in general. When applied, it usually saves valuable time and often avoids common errors and design flaws that would have shown up further down the road.
Initially, it may cost some time while a programmer thinks about how to best solve a given problem, but the problems it avoids down the road could turn out to be much more valuable than the initial costs.
Another place where the benefits of at least putting in reasonable efforts are obvious, is in the concept of Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY). You can apply the DRY principle by always organizing your code into a set of reusable classes, functions, or files that you can include.
Another important practice is to avoid relying on assumptions. The reason for this is that you can not be sure that you are the only one working on a implementation, and other people might not know about your assumptions. Sometimes you might not even remember your own assumptions — both situations could easily lead to bugs — for example, if you are in doubt whether a given feature is available on a system, it may be best to simply check before you try to use it.
OOP and code re-usability
OOP has a lot of benefits other than code re-usability. But, one of my main reasons for using OOP has to do with saving time.
Design patterns and coding standards can help you write code that is easier to maintain and reuse. Note. There are plugins for code editors that can help you write better and more readable code
Reasonable efforts is not about blindly applying coding style, but more about choosing the right way to solve a problem under current circumstances, recognizing the limits, including the limits of your own skill.
Reasonable efforts is not perfection
It is also not about perfection from the start. It is more about trying hard, learning, and improving your code, as you improve your skills. You should not be afraid to fail and make mistakes.
But, applying these principles and habits in your work will make it easier for yourself, as well as your colleagues, and people who just happen to use your software.
All of this is a very long process, and one that we probably never really finish, hence the "reasonable" part. The fact that you currently do not know about something, does not mean you will not know about it in the future — always maintain a willingness to learn.
If people criticize your coding skills, you can refer them to this article.
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